​SF Studios’ A Man Called Ove in the final race for Oscars

A Man Called Ove (En man som heter Ove), produced by Nordic major SF Studios, is included in the five- film short-list, nominated for Best Foreign Language Film and also for Best Makeup and Hairstyling at the Academy Awards gala in February 2017. It is the 6th time a film produced by SF Studios has been nominated as best foreign language film.

A Man Called Ove - based on the best-selling Swedish novel by Fredrik Backman - is a story about Ove, a grumpy yet loveable man who finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door. The film has been a huge box-office hit with over 1 700 000 local admissions - the third most successful domestic film ever in Sweden. In 2016 it was awarded with three Guldbaggar – the Swedish equivalent to the Oscar – for Best male actor in a leading role, the People’s Choice Award for Best Film and Best Make-up. In addition, the film won the prestigious award for Best European Comedy at the EFA Awards in December 2016, in Wroclaw, Poland.

“As the production company behind A Man Called Ove we are extremely happy and honored that the film has been included in the final short list competing for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Makeup and Hairstyling Oscars, says Michael Porseryd, CEO at SF Studios. 

He adds “For the film to be one out of five films in the final race is in itself a great achievement and reflects the talent and dedication of Director Hannes Holm, Producers Annica Bellander and Nicklas Wikström Nicastro and the Author Fredrik Backman and of course the outstanding performance by the actors”.

A Man Called Ove has been sold to over 35 international markets including the US where it premiered on September 30th, 2016. Several US critics have praised the film;

"...It's a heartwarming tale...” - Variety

"...A Man Called Ove - striking a delicate balance between barking-mad comedy and syrupy melodrama..." - The Village Voice

"...Holm’s adaptation is a darkly funny, tragic, and ultimately heartwarming tearjerker..." Entertainment Weekly

A Man Called Ove is produced by SF Studios - Producers Annica Bellander and Nicklas Wikström Nicastro, Executive producers Fredrik Wikström Nicastro and Michael Hjorth - in co-production with Film Väst, Nordisk Film, Nordsvensk Filmunderhållning and Fantefilm, with support from the Swedish Film Institute, the Norwegian Film Institute and Nordisk Film & TV Fond.

SF Studios has previously been awarded with three Oscars – Arne Sucksdorff’s “Symphony of a City” in 1948 for Best Short Film and the two Ingmar Bergman films “The Virgin Spring” in 1961 and “Through a Glass Darkly” in 1962, both awarded for Best Foreign Language Film.

In addition a number of SF Studios produced or co-produced films have previously been nominated for an Oscar, including Jan Troell’s “The Emigrants” which was nominated for no less than five Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Foreign Language Film (1971), Jan Troell ́s “The Stellers” (1972), the Lasse Hallström film “My Life As a Dog” (1985) which was nominated for Best Director and Best Script and the Colin Nutley film “Under the Sun” (1995) which was nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

At present SF Studios is developing another feature film based on Fredrik Backman’s best-selling novels – “Britt-Marie Was Here”, which is planned to go into production in 2017.

For more information, contact:

Michael Porseryd, CEO SF Studios, +46 70 270 92 68, michael.porseryd@sfstudios.se
Kristina Linglöf, Head of Communications SF Studios, +46 70 305 22 27, kristina.linglof@sfstudios.se